ABSTRACT
Golf in Spain grew spectacularly in the last years of the XX century mainly due to two factors: the development of golf tourism and the participation of the upper-middle classes of larger Spanish cities. The push given by these two factors favoured the concentration of golf activity with the consequent construction of new golf courses in the most visited tourist areas of the Mediterranean coast, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. This development was mainly carried out by private commercial enterprise with a very little help from state bodies.
According to the results of social research of “Golf in Spain”, sponsored by the General Secretary of Tourism of the Spanish Government and directed by the authors of this work, there is empirical evidence of an asymmetric development both in the geographical and social areas, and the conclusion is reached that it is necessary to change the tendency of this development and make it more balanced by means of the construction of new public and municipal courses which may be used by other social classes and contribute to its democratisation.
